


The Testing of a Ruler

by FaithWarrior



Series: Corporate Miracles [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, Episode Fix-It: s03 Miracle Queen (The Battle of the Miraculous Part 2), Episode: s03 Miracle Queen (The Battle of the Miraculous Part 2) Spoilers, Female Friendship, Maintaining Character Growth, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, supportive friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:01:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23901241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaithWarrior/pseuds/FaithWarrior
Summary: As people grow they are tested, just because some tests may end in failure it does not mean the loss of growth.What should have actually happened when the slowly maturing Chloe Bourgeois was confronted with the horrific embodiment of her parents lack of care for her. Let's be honest, if Miracle queen needed to happen for the plot fine, but that shouldn't mean Chloe has to lose all of the character growth that was piling up through the entire series.
Relationships: Chloé Bourgeois & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Corporate Miracles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722769
Comments: 6
Kudos: 89





	The Testing of a Ruler

**Author's Note:**

> Miracle Queen - but character growth sticks  
> So I am a big fan of fandom Chloe who grows up and learns her lesson from being queen bee. Miracle Queen kinda nixed that but I wanted to write something where her previous character growth was displayed without completely skipping over the entire episode on principle.

The large manifestation of her parents' marital hatred was out wandering the streets of Paris eating people, or their love at least. And here Chloe was up in her marble penthouse helplessly doing nothing. Chloe knew that Ladybug couldn’t and wouldn’t come for Queen Bee for this battle. Not only had that last battle with Sabrina proven that it wasn’t safe, but Chloe was also aware that she was in no mental state to go out fighting both her parents. So sitting on her bed all Chloe had was her own thoughts.

Chloe could feel their words from earlier echoing in her head. “ _ You love yourself,  _ “ they had said. The layered sound of both her parents voices announcing that at her core they thought their own daughter to be only concerned with herself. Chloe could hear their words echoed in the memories of her classmates.

_ “That's just Chloe for you. She’ll never change.” _

_ “Why are you always so mean.” _

_ “Not everything is about you Chloe.” _

_ “Ladybug doesn't want a bully like you.” _

_ “You are ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. You're fired.” _

Their words were painful in her head and Chloe could feel her face get wet as tears blurred her vision. She had been trying so hard. Even if she could never wear the miraculous again she wanted to live up to the hero Queen Bee represented. Chloe wanted to make Ladybug proud like she wanted to make her mom proud. And for Chloe pleasing the hero seemed infinitely more attainable. 

But somehow Chloe still failed, and people still hated her. Everyone refused to see that she was changing, that she wasn't the same person they used to know.

Her blurry vision filled with shadows and a mesmerizing blend of cool blue, purple, green and gray covered what she could see. Her ears picked up faint conversation but she was unable to identify anything more than the general tones of the voices through the sounds filling her head. She tried to curl up more into the corner of her bed but felt the wall at her back. 

The voices got louder and she cringed. She could barely make out a laugh as the gray moved closer to her. 

“Poor girl. Lost and alone at the mercy of her own thoughts. I can make it go away, you would like that my dear.” The voice was familiar to Chloe enough that the memories quieted. 

“Are you certain this will work. Her thoughts aren’t very cohesive.” A female voice intoned sharply.

“No they aren’t, but the base is solid. A feeling of deep inadequacy and pain has been brewing for a while. We must seize the opportunity to act now while we hold all the cards.” 

Chloe could feel hands in her hair and flinched violently away only to move herself into another grip. 

“Her mind is drowning, it will make her easy to control. With a little guidance she can be the strongest Akuma yet.” The man finished as the hands moved away.

“Yes sir.” The female said as the other hands maneuvered Chloe. 

A smaller voice seemed to make an appearance, then, a gentle voice saying with deep distress, “My Queen?” 

Chloe felt a rush of reassurance with the appearance of this voice. She sobbed and curled into herself hearing it.

“It's time.” The woman’s voice spoke. 

“Ahh yes.” The man’s voice moved closer to Chloe. “Now my dear, you want to feel strong and needed by those you admire. You have your miraculous back now. All you have to do is transform and then you won’t be useless anymore. How does that sound?”

There was a loud squeak of distress but Chloe was entranced by the voice that had now blocked out the others in her head. “Pollen, Buzz On.” she whispered and just for a second Chloe, Queen Bee, felt completely safe. And then everything went dark.

****************************************************************************************************

Marinette was getting a little panicked. First she escaped the party with Adrien and Kagami. Then Andre had to confuse her with ice cream just before an Akuma floating head started eating people. And she couldn't call in Queen Bee because that would recklessly endanger Chloe. So even though Hawkmoth knew Kagami was Ryuko she was still the better option because nobody else knew. And now Master Fu was missing and it was all her fault.

She ran out of the park as fast as she could. How was she going to find him? She could transform again but there's no guarantee that Lucky Charm would tell her where Master Fu was at. All of the sudden she hit a wall, a warm wall with arms. Looking up into Luka’s concerned face she felt tears in her eyes.

“It’s all my fault Luka.” she sobbed into his shirt. Before jumping away. “Sorry, I don't know why I did that.”

“Are you okay?” He asked carefully.

“Yes. Thank you Luka.” She smiled. “By the way did you find that perfect tune you were looking for?”

“I think I did yeah, but are you sure you really want to hear it?” “You're still thinking of Adrien aren’t you?”

“No? I don't know.” The two talked as Marinette tried to explain her turbulent emotions. She was grateful that Luka was so understanding.

When an aggressive humming noise filled the air Marinette looked up in time to see a swarm of wasps flying down the street targeting everyone in their path. Just before the swarm hit them Luka maneuvered to cover Marinette. Using his body as a shield the wasps passed over Marinette.

She stared into Luka’s glazed over eyes as a very bad feeling filled her stomach.

“Marinette we need to go. This must be another Akuma.” Tikki whispered from Marinette’s purse. 

“I know Tikki.” Marinette answered while making no motion to move. “I have a bad feeling about this one though. I’m going to put Luka someplace safe before I go. I really don’t want to fight him today.”

Tikki seemed to be satisfied by this as Marinette walked Luka over to her family's bakery across the street and locked him in the customer bathroom by breaking off the lock. Satisfied that her friend would be safe in the little room until the Miraculous Cure fixed everything she ran up to her balcony. 

“Tikki, Spots On.” she yelled just before taking off over the rooftops.

**********

When the two hero’s arrived at the scene Ladybug was initially shocked. Chloe had been doing so much better lately and now she was standing up there beside Hawkmoth with the bee miraculous and looking like Queen Wasp. Upon closer look Ladybug noticed the new crown on Chloes head and the black tear like shapes on her mask and cheeks. 

“No.” Chat gasped under his breath. 

Ladybug followed his gaze up to the rooftop behind their opponents where a glowing green shield was holding off barages from Mayura. “Master.” She whispered before focusing on the scene. In front of Chloe, who was apparently Miracle Queen, was every temporary miraculous holder baring Luka. Ladybug was grateful for her friend's absence. The snake was a formidable opponent and Luka was a very good snake. The only ones not transformed were Kagami and Nino as Master Fu was in possession of the turtle miraculous and Ladybug still had the dragon.

And there under Hawkmoth's arm was the Miracle Box. Ladybug's inhale was heard by her partner who drew his attention away from the line of their former allies. “Chat, he has the Miracle Box and Master Fu.” 

“Milady, we can do this.” Chat looked at her with her own uncertainty reflecting back in his eyes. “They don't have Viperion.” The name is said slightly suspiciously.

“I took care of Viperion on my way here.” Ladybug confirmed.

“Good, If we can get the snake out of the box that would be a good one to have on our side.” He replied confidently.

Just as he was saying that Miracle Queen was given the box by Hawkmoth and began fiddling around with the drawers. At one drawer she screeched after opening it and actually through the miraculous away in fright. Conveniently putting what was actually the snake miraculous within Ladybugs reach. Ladybug looked at the miraculous in shock for several long moments before bursting into laughter that was thankfully covered by the sound of Hawkmoth chastising his Akuma.

“Um, Milady please explain what just happened.” Chat said with a squint.

“Either Chloe thinks that the snake is a horrible piece of fashion, or she's a more compatible bee than I realized. If she’s bonded with Pollen and she’s a true bee then side effects like fear of reptilian predators is possible.” Ladybug wiped tears from her eyes. “We gotta go out there and grab the snake before they do.”

“I can use it Milady.” Chat spoke.

“Good, because I really shouldn't use more than two and I already have the dragon.”

****  _ Akuma Battle _ ****

As the purple cloud rolled off of Chloe and her transformation dropped, Ladybug handed the Miracle . . . Egg? To Chat with a pat on the arm before moving over to the girl. Pollen was now buzzing around her holder's head and shoulders in worry though she zipped to Ladybug as soon as she was close enough. 

“My Guardian, it isn’t her fault.” Pollen was in a tizzy and Ladybug gently held out her hand for the tired kwami to land on. 

“I believe you Pollen. Chloe has been showing great growth recently. Now please tell me if you know how I can help her.” 

“Be gentle Guardian, she was in the middle of a panic when she transformed.” Pollen seemed more relaxed now that she knew her holder wouldn’t face undue blame.

Ladybug knelt down in front of Chloe. “Chloe, can you hear me?”

“Ladybug?” Her voice was so low it could barely be heard. “I’m so sorry Ladybug. I tried so hard to be better and I still managed to make everything worse.” There were tears running down her face and her hair was in more disarray than Ladybug had ever seen it before. “They said that I couldn't change and they were right.”

“No.” Ladybug's voice interrupted, causing Chloe to look up at the heroine in shock. “They are wrong Chloe, you are changing. It may not be immediate and it may not fill in the criteria that others want or expect from you but you are becoming a better version of yourself.”

“But I was Akumatized, again. And I did so much damage this time.” Chloe was crying again. “Ladybug, I remember most of it. That I caused so much pain and destruction while laughing. It felt like I was trapped in a nightmare and I couldn't get out.”

“Chloe, you had a panic attack. It is nothing to be ashamed of, a lot of people get them. I’ll tell you a secret that nobody but my kwami knows. I get panic attacks. They suck and most of the time my kwami has to watch over me so I don’t get akumatized.” Ladybug could feel her own tears. “Hawkmoth took advantage of a vulnerable moment in the most horrifying way possible and that is not your fault.” Offering her hand to Chloe the two girls stood up. “I have to go take care of a few things and then I’ll be back to take you home okay. You don't have to be alone right now.” At Chloe’s nod Ladybug swung herself to the roof where Chat waited with the now mostly complete Miraculous box.

“Chloe still has the Bee?” Chat asked in confusion.

“She doesn't need to be alone right now Chat.” His head ducked with understanding at her words before they moved to talk to the man who used to be their master.

When they were done Ladybug put the newly acquired key into her yoyo and tucked the spotted egg miracle box thing under her arm before waving Chat away and returning to Chloe’s side.

“Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

“Not the hotel please. Can you just take me to the bakery Marinette?” Chloe was almost half asleep now on the sidewalk. It took the girl several moments to realize what she had said. “Mon Duie.”

In her shock Ladybug had dropped the miracle egg. “What?”

“Shit.” Now much more awake Chloe moved off the ground. “Let's get out of the open Bug.” 

Ladybug grabbed Chloe and swung them across the city to an abandoned rooftop just as her transformation dropped.

“It was the bathroom, then it was thinking about that plush doll right after thinking about Pollen. After that it was how irritated Ladybug would be or how nice Marinette would be. Little things really that started adding up. How much you hated Rossi, why Cesaire kept getting interviews.” Chloe laughed. “Once I got it I tried so hard to forget that sometimes    
I did. Hawkmoth shouldn't know because I was so deep in my own head that all I could think about was everyone who hated me. And oddly enough you weren’t one of the people in that category anymore.” She paused and turned around. “Sorry again for making things harder for you. I wasn’t going to tell you I knew, figured that pretending everything was normal would help.”

Marinette moved forward and hugged Chloe with her arms tight around the other girl's waist. “Thank you. Thank you for seeing me even if you didn’t know what to do with the information you still kept me safe.” She pulled back and wiped her eyes. “Now it's my turn to help you. We are now friends, no arguments. First we are going to my house and I’m going to teach you some of the techniques I use to help prevent or control panic attacks. Then we are going to talk to the kwami about redesigning the Bee.”

“What do you mean redesigning the Bee?”

“You threw away the miraculous belonging to a reptilian predator out of fear while hyped up on emotions.”

“I have no idea what that means at all.”

“My queen, you have side effects from the miraculous. It means that you are a true Bee and you are more compatible with the Bee miraculous.” Pollen spoke up from her position on Chloes shoulder.

“A hero’s costume is a reflection of their innermost desires at the time of transformation, but the design can be changed.” Tikki also piped in.

“I was planning on this anyway but now I don't have to find an excuse to help. You are a perfect Bee Chloe, no way I’m losing that. Plus if you have your miraculous Pollen can help you through panic attacks. We might have to perform an old guardian ritual to change the miraculous shape though. The hair comb is a little conspicuous in this day and age.” Marinette intoned thoughtfully.

“I will have you know that my last users loved the design.” Pollen scoffed.

“In the renaissance when beehive hair was still in.” Marinette argued with the kwami. Chloe shuddered at the thought of wearing her hair like that. Marinette laughed seeing Chloe's reaction out of the corner of her eye. “Go ahead and text who you need to. We are having a friend day and then a sleep over. You are about to receive the maximum dose of Dupain-Cheng friendship.”

***

While the two girls spent a much needed day relaxing and getting to know each other past their historic experiences the next day was not as peaceful. Marinette got a text to meet their classmates and others down at the river and insisted that Chloe come too.

“You have changed, and I promise that I will help you show that side of you.” Marinette insisted passionately.

The grip that Marinette had on Chloe’s hand was more mutual than Chloe thought it should have been. Although the reassurance that Marinette needed her support as much as Chloe needed the other girls was appreciated. The two made their way down to the river to mild conversation and laughter. However, their arrival silenced much of the conversation at the bridge when they arrived.

The teenagers milling around Andre’s ice cream cart and the adjacent river bank stared at the two girls walking up to the cart side by side. The two pairs of blue eyes exchanged a pointed look before their spined straitened and their expressions cleared in a synchronized release of tension. 

“Ahh the bonds of new found friends after a storm clears. Such beauty to be found in the simplicity of platonic love. I have a treat just for you.” Andre said with a bright smile. “Sharp lemon for one’s bite that softened with time. Strawberry dark chocolate for the others bright personality tempered by the harder moments in life. And a drizzle of organic honey to bond the two together. Don't forget the cookie cone for a little extra crunch.” The ice cream man presented the cone to two shocked expressions before both burst into giggles.

“It’s perfect Andre. And I must say that I’m glad you are expanding into other types of relationships rather than just romantic.” Marinette said as she accepted the cone from the man.

“Learning and growing are important parts of life. I myself am learning that there is much more to love than what my eyes have chosen to focus on.” Andre shooed them away with a smile, but not without Chloe slipping some money quietly into the man's apron.

“Look Chloe, the first cone of friendship ice cream on our first full day of friendship.” Marinette exclaimed with a bright smile. “It's a sign.”

Chloe could only chuckle under her breath at her new friends' antics as they approached the larger group.

Adrien was the first to approach the two, “Marinette, Chloe, I’m glad you could make it.” The boy smiled brightly at the two girls before wrapping them both into a large hug. That seemed to put the gathered people temporarily at ease. 

Kagami was just behind Adrien and gave Marinette a small smile before turning to Chloe. After several moments of eye contact Chloe was also granted a smile. Chloe took this as a compliment and smiled back.

Chloe saw the boy sitting next to Julika wave in their direction, most likely directed towards Marinette. 

“That's Luka. He’s Julika’s brother and he’s super chill and nice.” Marinette whispered into Chloe’s ear as they moved to the open space next to him.

Marinette sat next to Luka and Adrien sat on the other side of Chloe. The warmth settling behind was most likely Kagami then. Chloe realized that they were forming a barrier for her, but also for Marinette. The second was an afterthought as she remembered the way the dynamics of their social circle had been changing recently. 

Sure enough there were only a few minutes of peaceful conversation before the first verbal stone was thrown. Chloe just appreciated that she was able to enjoy her ice cream with Marinette first.

“What is She doing here? We didn’t invite the Disaster Queen.” Cesaire was the first to speak up. Not surprising really.

“I invited her.” Marinette responded calmly without turning around. If Chloe hadn’t been able to see her new friends eyes waver the slightest degree in pain she would have believed her icy exterior. “Chloe’s my friend now, we’ve made amends for our past and are starting over.” At that Marinette gave Chloe's hand a squeeze.

“Yeah right. Yesterday just proves that she will never change. She’ll always be selfish and cruel. She stood beside Hawkmoth, we all saw that.” Cesaire was getting more worked up. 

Oh, right. Rena Rouge was Alya. It made sense that Marinette would trust her best friend with a miraculous. No wonder Cesaire was pissed off.

“Some of us were there.” Kagami interrupted. “My personal observation was that Ladybug had no blame for Ms. Bourgeois. In fact before I left our leader was comforting Chloe, as a leader should when one of their teammates is in pain.” Chloe noticed Marinette's face open in shock at Kagami’s acknowledgment of the team dynamics and Ladybugs role in them. Chloe herself was humbled by the fact that the fearless fencer considered Chloe to be a teammate even in a remote sense.

Cesaire however was not impressed, she was in fact in a bit of shock. “What?” 

Chloe was unsure of what to do, what to say. Thankfully others were there to help her. 

“Having emotions is not something to be punished. If it were, we would all be guilty.” This came from Luka to Chloe’s surprise.

“Alya, I understand that you are frustrated, but Chloe is just another victim here. The true villain is Hawkmoth and we should remember that.” Adrien’s voice was a balm to the situation. Soothing Cesaire and bringing the group back to reality.

“Whatever.” The reporter scoffed. “She’s still a bully.”

“No. Not anymore.” Marinette stood up causing her former best friend to back up. “People can change. It is insulting to believe that they won’t. Chloe is growing and I support her efforts.” Marinette reached her hand down to Chloe. 

When she took the offered hand she was pulled to her feet. They pushed past Cesaire without having to make contact. Chloe could feel Kagami, Luka and Adrien getting up and following after them in a show of support. It wasn’t much but it was more true friendship than Chloe had ever felt before.

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Yes I also made it so Luka got out scot free. This is because while I like the idea of changing uniforms and names to fool HM, and this would still need to happen for Kagami and Chloe, I personally like Lukas' hero name as is. Though in other fics I have changed it just so I don't have to deal with conflicts with canon. Also the fight scene happened similarly to the show just without Viperion.


End file.
